The McGrath's Kitchen blog is a meeting place for families alike who enjoy cooking together! The scope of my blog is to share recipes with others who like me cook everyday & care for the health of their family. I encourage people to buy local & in season. My scope is to learn from other mother's & homemakers. This is a loving blog where we share what has worked best for us. So folks lets get ready to cook, and why not have a glass of wine while doing it :) xSara

Saturday, 3 September 2011

Stuffed Artichokes

When I was a kid my favourite dish was stuffed artichokes. This is the way my mom used to make them. It can be a full meal and it is also a great vegetarian dish. Artichokes are a great source of fiber, antioxidants and contain plenty of vitamins…(they are also a fun finger food.)

I’ll admit that they are not cheap, but if they are in season where you live, you can find them at a better price.

I serve one artichoke per person. The stuffing I make can be substituted with any stuffing recipe you have, and if you want to make this dish even heartier you can add chicken or another type of minced meat to the stuffing mix.

I think sometimes people get a little intimidated by artichokes but they are very easy to cook…the one rule is that once you have cut them and are waiting to stuff them it is important to let the artichokes soak in salted water during this waiting period (the same way you would soak potatoes), this way they don’t turn brown.

Ingredients:

4 raw artichokes

Ingredients for the stuffing:

1 cup of plain bread crumbs

1 garlic clove

1 shallot onion

Fresh parsley (plenty)50-60 grams of parmesan cheese (grated)

Salt & pepper

1 egg (optional)

Olive oil

It is also optional to add some minced chicken or other sort of meat.

Clean the artichokes by removing the first layer of exterior petals.

Cut the top bit of the artichoke off so that you have an even height across the top.

Then cut the stems off, leaving a couple of mm’s so they are able to stand upright on the pan.

Once they are clean take your artichokes and smash them head down on the counter, so that the petals loosen. I do it about 3 -4 times…(it is fun.)

Now put them in salted water while you do the other rest of them.

In a mixer, mix all of the stuffing ingredients together.

Once this is ready take the artichokes out of the water, dry them and begin stuffing the insides of the petals (I start with the outside petals first and work my way in.)

When you are done stuffing all of the artichokes place them upright in a pot with enough water (about an inch of water)… make sure they are snuggled one next to the other, it doesn’t matter if they are tight…

Now drizzle a little olive oil over the top, have the heat on medium to low and cover the pot…

I cooked them for 30 minutes. You will notice when they are ready as they are nice and soft and the petals may come off... That wasn’t so hard...

haha..I know what you mean..and also if you don't remove that funny fuzzy layer on the centre of the heart it will taste weird..The best way to eat the heart is to buy the artichokes preserved in oil and use them in salads. yummy also thanks for following my blog;)